The Samos Closed Controlled Access Centre (CCAC) is one of five CCACs built or under construction on the hotspot islands of Greece. Opened on the 18th September 2021, the CCAC replaced the Reception and Identification Centre (RIC) and its neighbouring inhuman “jungle”. With its construction 100% funded by the European Union (EU) for a total of 43 million euros, the Samos CCAC was the first to be opened in Greece and was framed by the European Commission as the solution to “avoid emergency situations of the past”, “prevent overcrowding and long stays” and provide “adequate living conditions for all groups of residents and dignified reception conditions”. Despite these claims, evidence suggests the CCAC violates the rights of people held there through: the lack of access to basic services, the human impact of the highly securitised structure of the facility, the unlawful de facto detention practices and inhuman and degrading living conditions.

Location

The Samos CCAC, located in Zervou, is eight kilometres from the nearest town. The remote location of the facility creates barriers for people’s access to essential services including legal and medical support. The price of bus tickets is two euros one way, making it unaffordable for many in the CCAC who, despite being entitled to by law, generally in practice do not receive cash assistance.

Accommodation

People are accommodated within the CCAC in ISO-box containers. People are not permitted to lock their containers, resulting in the feeling of a lack of safety and privacy. Following the increase of people seeking safety on Samos from July to October 2023 and the CCAC population exceeding 200% of the facility’s capacity, resulting in people being held in overcrowded conditions. In response, containers that were initially used for administrative purposes were used to accommodate asylum seekers, where they were required to sleep with blankets on the floor with around 20 people in a room. Additionally, people were forced to sleep in the corridors of the containers, or even outside. In December, I Have Rights reported on a group of asylum seekers who were forced to sleep outside for almost a month.

Security infrastructure

People living inside the CCAC very often refer to the facility as a “prison”. The CCAC has a 24/7 presence of Hellenic Police and guards from the private security company G4S who man the perimeter, entry points and checkpoints throughout the structure. Surrounded “by a double NATO-type security fence” the CCAC is encompassed by a road that is patrolled by state and private security vehicles. A curfew is in place from 8pm to 8am and people are subjected to a weekly census.

In June 2023, following a strategic inquiry on how the European Commission ensure respect for fundamental rights in EU-funded migration management facilities in Greece, the EU Ombudsperson found that:

"The external fencing and surveillance infrastructure do not create a physical environment conducive to wellbeing and are, rather, reminiscent of detention facilities…It is questionable how respect for human dignity and protection of the best interests of the child and of vulnerable individuals can be ensured if residents are forced to stay in such an environment."

The main surveillance system of the CCAC is CENTAUR, which uses an artificial intelligence motion analytics algorithm that works in tandem with CCTV security cameras that are in place throughout the public areas of the premises. This algorithm monitors the camera feed, picking up on motion that it has been programmed to flag, including potentially aggressive or hostile movement, which is then signalled to the authorities. The camera feeds are accessed remotely off-site in a control centre in Athens. CENTAUR also manages aerial drones that are in operation at the CCAC. CENTAUR can dispatch drones to monitor the situation and avoid human officers from having to initially assess the situation.

HYPERION is another security system in place in the CCAC that controls entry and exit to facilities. It uses biometrics as well as an ID card which are used to authenticate the identity of an asylum seeker. In this way asylum seekers are required to scan their fingerprints upon entry and exit to the structure. I Have Rights has also received reports that this is not always enforced. Every time they enter the structure, asylum seekers are also subjected to a strict airport-style security check. Additionally, asylum seekers must show their biometric ID card when they receive food, although their fingerprints are not scanned at this time.

Upon arrival in the CCAC, people are subjected to intense security checks by police, including at times strip searches. Additionally, peoples’ phones are taken by police, without legal procedure, for up to 10 days. People are required to provide their passcode to the police on a piece of paper and no legal order or justification is provided to them. I Have Rights has received reports that people can then be questioned by the police on the content of their phone, while others have reported receiving their phone in different conditions to when they had them before (e.g. the phones were then connected to the Wifi or were returned fully charged).

Unlawful de facto detention

The de facto detention regime in place in the CCAC is unlawful and has been denounced by several civil society actors. Upon arrival at the Samos CCAC, every asylum seeker is automatically de facto detained. The modalities of this detention changed several times in two and a half years of operation of the CCAC. For example, from March to November 2022, asylum seekers were placed in mandatory quarantine detention before then being provided with a “restriction of freedom” order, a de facto detention order justifying asylum seekers be restricted to the CCAC for up to 25 days for “identification purposes”. When counting also the period in quarantine detention, during this period people were de facto detained at the facility for a period of one to two months.

As a short summary, from November 2022 to June 2023, the restriction of freedom orders were provided to asylum seekers around a week after they arrived at the CCAC, leaving them detained without documents for up to two weeks. The orders were first given for 5 days before applicants received an automatic extension of 20 days. From June 2023, restriction of freedom orders were provided after people had already spent at least two weeks in detention in one of the two “temporary accommodation zones” - the previous quarantine zone. In July 2023, the CCAC population started to increase substantially, resulting in the authorities ceasing to provide any restriction of freedom orders at all.

At the time of writing, the de facto detention regime appears to be applied inconsistently. Asylum seekers continue to be de facto detained upon arrival with their detention period varying.

Inhuman and degrading conditions

Running water is extremely restricted in the CCAC - available for around one hour a day, if at all. Since the summer of 2023, laundry services are not available, which has meant maintaining decent hygiene is nearly impossible, leading to a high rate of infestations and contagious diseases and infections. For example, the CCAC is infested with cockroaches, bedbugs and fleas. Additionally there are severe outbreaks of scabies and skin diseases.

While people are provided with a “welcome package” containing hygiene products upon arrival, this is not renewed, forcing them to buy basic necessities themselves or to rely on organisations in Vathy, when they are able to reach them. Menstrual products are generally not provided, while the equivalent of one or two diapers a day being provided for babies.

The quality of the food provided inside the CCAC is a key concern raised by the facility’s population. It is common for the meals to have expired by the time they are distributed. People report that mould can often be found on the food, and that health problems, especially stomach aches, often occur after eating. Additionally, the food is often reported to be insufficient in quantity to cover the nutritional needs of an adult. Finally, the way food is provided to people residing in the CCAC is described as “humiliating”: only two distribution points are available, resulting in people queueing for up to three and a half hours to be able to receive food. With meals being distributed twice a day, the waiting time for food can reach up to 7 hours a day. Regarding drinking water, people in the CCAC receive two 1,5L bottles of water a day in the morning, with no extra water being provided during heatwaves.

In February 2024, the European Court of Human Rights granted Interim Measures for an asylum seeking woman and her infant child who were held in inhuman and degrading conditions in the Samos CCAC, thereby recognising the unsafe and unsuitable character of living conditions inside the CCAC.

Physical violence

According to a report from the Border Violence Monitoring Network, people report to have been subjected to physical violence, both in the Samos CCAC and upon arrival to the island. This violence includes beatings, strip and full body searches and psychological violence such as verbal abuse and humiliation.